AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WRITE FOR RIGHTS 2017

Amnesty International, USA, Dec. 7, 2017.

You can help change the lives of this year’s 10 cases by writing letters. When combined with millions of others, your letters help convince government officials to free prisoners of conscience, support human rights defenders, and end other urgent cases of abuse. Together, we can change lives and change our world.

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CHINA: Justice for Ni Yulan - WRITE for RIGHTS

Amnesty International, USA, Dec 6, 2017.

Imagine being dragged out of your house by unknown men having to find somewhere to sleep on the street. Now imagine this happening time and time again.

This is reality for Ni Yulan, a housing rights activist in China.  An ex-lawyer, Ni Yulan and her family watched the demolition of their home shortly before the Beijing Olympic Games. She wasn’t going to let it happen quietly. She resisted - educating neighbours about their rights and advocating on behalf of other displaced residents.  Her activism didn’t go unnoticed by the Chinese authorities - soon she was arrested and jailed simply for defending housing rights.

Despite winning international awards for her courageous work, Ni Yulan has faced nearly 20 years of harassment, evictions, and surveillance.

The police once tortured her so brutally, she was left with broken feet, smashed kneecaps and confined to a wheelchair for life.

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FINLAND: Protect Transgendered People - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Write for Rights 

Sakris was a teenager when he realised that the gender he was given at birth doesn’t express who he is.

Since then, he has faced many challenges in Finland. First, he needed to be diagnosed with a “mental disorder” in order to change his name to one that he felt better matched his identity. Then he learned that in order to have his gender legally recognized, he would also need to be sterilized.

"It felt like I was categorized subhuman based on my gender identity. I felt sick."

Despite facing intimidation and threats, Sakris is bravely campaigning for a fairer system for transgender people in Finland, so that nobody else is treated how he has been treated.

If the Finnish government ends these cruel regulations, transgender people will be able to live their lives with dignity, enjoying their right to be recognized for who they are.

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ISRAEL: Issa Amro & Farid al-Atrash Stand for Palestinian Rights - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, Write for Rights 2017.

Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories cannot get to work or school, or see their friends and family without feeling the disruptive effect of Israel’s military rule.  It even restricts their ability to farm their land, attend a protest, or access essential services such as electricity and clean water.

People’s entire lives are effectively held hostage by Israel.

Issa Amro and Farid al-Atrash have been peacefully standing against the force of Israel’s military rule, demanding the end to Israel’s settlements in the city of Hebron and other places in the occupied West Bank. But because they have stood up to Israel, they are being punished and are facing criminal charges.

Palestinians need to be able to stand up for their rights - and the world needs to know what is happening to them. None of this can happen without activists like Issa and Farid.

We need to show Israel that we stand with peaceful protesters so that they stop prosecuting Issa and Farid and allow them to continue their important work. 

CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

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